If you're planning on seeing Jason Isbell in concert tonight at Billy Bob's in Fort Worth, make sure you're either fully vaccinated or have a recent negative COVID-19 test.
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit moved their concert from Panther Island Pavilion to Billy Bob's Texas after Isbell announced that all attendees must wear a mask to his shows, and either be fully vaccinated or show documentation of a negative COVID test taken within 72 hours.
"Normally, what we're looking at are venues that are large, outdoor venues that receive some funding from the state. Their fear is that, as [Texas Governor] Abbott has threatened, the state is going to withhold funding from the venues that allow artists to put Covid restrictions in place" Isbell recently said in an interview with Rolling Stone. "I don't think Billy Bob's needs Texas's money, because Billy Bob's got Billy Bob's money. So capitalism stepped up and said, "Hey, we'll take the money."
Terran Fleenor with Billy Bob's says while there has been some pushback, it's been minimal.
"the people that want to attend the concert have been complimentary and super positive about what we have in place" said Fleenor.
"I think if we hadn't put these kinds of restrictions in place and we didn't hold the line on it, I would feel like I was taking advantage of people while I'm doing my job. I don't ever want to do that, because that little thing that I love the most about the job that I have is the fact that it spreads something positive. I want to protect that. I don't want to spread positive tests — I want to spread positive vibes" Isbell told Rolling Stone.
Those attending tonight's concert should arrive early, since staffers will be checking documentation. Fleenor says they check concert tickets and IDs every night, so this is simply an additional checkpoint.
